Tumbling mill



Oct. 10', 1944. s. P. SCHUMME'R 2,359,944

' TUMBLING MILL Filed Dec.. 16, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I I l l l l IN VENTOR.

- ATTYSI Oct. 10, 1944. s. P. SCHUMME'R TUMBLING MILL Filed Dec. 16,1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 coo a menu on n25 n l as:

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INVENTOR. J'efiasfz'arz' Paul Jcummer Patented Oct. 10, 1944 'TUMBLINGMILL Sebastian Paul Schummer, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to HowardEngineerin & Manufacturing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation ofOhio Application December 16, 1942, Serial No.-469,269

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a tumbling mill of the type in which castings,metal parts and other objects are placed in a rotatable 'drum along witha suitable abrasive or cleansing medium either solid or liquid, thoughgenerally in the form of small solid fragments, slugs, and stars.

An object of the invention is to provide a mill of this kind in whichthe discharge of the load, that is the material operated upon in thetumbling drum, is efiected at the periphery or side of the drum.

Another object is to provide novel means whereby the discharge ofthe-load .is effected by the mere change in direction of rotationof thedrum.

Another object is to provide novel conduit means for carrying thedischarged material from the drum to the separating mechanism 'or unit.

Another object is the provision of new and simplified means forreturning the abrasive medium from the separating unit to the tumblingdrum, during operation of the mill.

Another object is to provide a tumbling mill of reduced dimensions,without sacrificin load capacity.

Another object is the provision of a tumbling mill in which the bearingmeans are so positioned that the weight of the mill maintains the latterin proper rotatable position Without danger of displacement.

Another object isto provide these various improvements by simple andefficient means.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a tumbling mill of the invention,with parts broken away for disclosing the interior construction.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the mill.

Fig. '3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the line 4-4 of Fig.andFig. 5 is a modification of the invention.

With reference to the drawings:

The mill of this invention may be supported upona suitable framecomprising bottom members 3, front standards 5, rear standards 6, andhorizontal supporting beams l. The front standards5 and rear standards 6mayhave extending therebetween, adjacent the lower portions of theframe, a pair of supporting strips '8 and 9, upon which the bearingwheels or rollers Hi and H are mounted.

The mill itself, in accordance with this invention, comprises a drum [2made up of a front wall member 53, a rear wall member I4 and aperipheral wall il 5 which is here shown as octag onally formed. Figs.land 2 show the manner in which, in accordance with this invention, thefrontand'rear walls l 3 and l4 project outwardly beyond the peripheralwall I5.

The rear wall member l4 h'as secured thereon the rearwardly projectingconical collector drum l 6 which at the rear end is provided with asuitable circumferential track M (Fig. '1). It will be understood thatthe tumbling drum l2, collector drum l6, and the parts associatedtherewith, rotate as a unit during operation of the mill.

The front wall l3-oi the tumbling drum is providedwith an access openingi8 (Fig. 3), through which a suitable hopper 45 projects. The opening 18is surrounded by outwardly projecting rim I! to which a circular track29 is secured, the inner edge portion of this track being formed withteeth 2|.

The front track it rests upon the rollers I E! at the front of the druml2, and the rear track l'l, rests upon the rollers II at the rear of themill, whereby the mill is'rotatably positioned.

The teeth 2i are engaged by a sprocket chain 22, (Fig. 1), associated atthe top of the supporting frame, with a speed reducing unit 23, which inturn is operated by an electric motor 24, whereby the mill is rotated inboth directions, clockwise and counter-clockwise.

It should be noted that a considerable portion of the weight of the drum!2, especially when the latter is loaded extends substantially below therollers H1 so that the mill, due to this weight disposition resultantupon the positioning of the rollers iii and track 2 2, precludesaccidental displacement of the mill. In this connection, previous typesof mills have been supported at the outermost periphery, so that it hasbeen necessary to provide special independent weight means bearingagainst the top of the mi-ll, to avoid accidental displacement of themill. It has already been pointed outthat the peripheral wall 15, asshown herein, .is octagonal in form, so that the material rotated"within the drum i2 is frequently spilled'and dumped. from each, inturn, of the interior faces of the drum, the material being thusemciently worked and abraded. There is another purpose to the provisionof these lane faces provided interiorly of the drum, such structurehaving to do with the discharge of material from the drum. The angularlydisposed faces within the drum are achieved by the use of suitablyformed sheet metal. Two of the adjacently disposed wall portions,indicated at 25 and 25 are divided or separated from one another to forman outlet 21, (Figs. 2 and a), extending transversely of the peripheralwall of the drum. In other words, the peripheral wall portion 25overhangs the peripheral wall portion 26 and is spaced therefrom forforming said outlet 21.

The wall portion 26 is extended beyond the said outlet 27 as at 28 (Fig.4), and to this extension are attached additional sections 29 and 30,the latter having its outer edge connected with an extension 3| of oneof the angular face members of the peripheral wall l5.

The extension sections just described, although they project or bulgeoutwardly beyond the adjacent portions of the peripheral wall l5, areyet embraced at their side edges by the front and rear walls 13 and I4of the drum, whereby a chamber 32 is formed (Fig. e). At the upper endof this chamber, the rear wall 14 is provided with a discharge opening33. As seen particularly in Fig. 3, a guide strip 34 is secured withinthe chamber 32, having its forward end secured inwardly beyond theoutlet 21, as at 49 (Fig. 2), and thence proceeding diagonally throughthe chamber 32 to the discharge opening 33, so that materials operatedupon within the drum will, when the latter is rotating in acounter-clockwise direction, enter the outlet 2'! and be guided by thestrip 34 to the discharge opening 33. It will be under-- stod that whenthe drum is rotated in the clockwise direction, the material within thedrum simply slides down the peripheral wall portion 25 (Fig. 4) and pastthe outlet 21, without entering the same, and the abrasive operation iscontinued for a sufiicient length of time. When rotation of the mill isreversed, the discharge operation already described, takes place.

It has already been mentioned that the conical drum I5 is associatedwith and forms part of a separator mechanism. This separator comprises aperforate cylinder 35 (Figs. 1 and 3), secured at one end to the rearwall [4 of the drum l2, and projecting outwardly beyond the conical drumIE to form the final outlet for the materials abraded or polished withinthe mill. The perforate cylinder 35 has secured therein, a helical guide36, which, from a point near the inner end of the perforate cylinderprogresses spirally to the exit end thereof.

In the operation of the mill it is necessary to transfer the materialsdischarged from the drum l2 into the perforate cylinder 35, where theabrading elements such as the so-called' stars pass through theperforations of said cylinder, being smaller than said perforations,while the larger elements operated upon by the mill are passed outwardlyby the action of the helical guide 36.

For effecting the transference mentioned, the present invention providesfor an arcuate channel extending from the discharge outlet 33 of thedrum to a port 31 in the said perforate cylinder 35 (Fig. 3). The saidarcuate channel is formed by the rear wall l4 of the drum [2 with whichare associated the channel walls 38, 39, and 50, extending from thedischarge opening 33, then through the wall of the conical drum l6 andto said port 31 in the perforate cylinder 35. The path of the materialdischarged from the tumbling drum is indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3,namely, the course through the chamber 32 in the tumbling drum, thenthrough the discharge opening 33 and finally through the channel leadingdirectly to the port 31 in the perforate cylinder 35.

The return of the abrading elements from the bottom of the rotatingconical drum IE to the interior of the tumbling drum I2 is effected,according to this invention, by a chute 40 (Fig. 3) whichhas one enddisposed against the interior face of said conical drum, and the otherend projecting to a point just beyond the middle of the wall I4 on thetumbling drum, at which point the latter is provided with an aperture4!. The lower end of the chute 40 has an entry 42 into which theabrading elements are directed by means of a deflector 43. As the millturns clockwise, the collected elements are passed downwardly throughthe chute 40 and the aperture 41 into the interior of the tumblin drumto perform their abrading function again.

It is contemplated herein that the tumbling mill might be operated withliquid as the cleansing medium, and for this purpose, Figs. 1 and 2 showa trough 44 embracing the lower portions of the tumbling drum l2. Liquidfrom the interior of the tumbling drum is discharged into the troughthrough perforations 46 (Figs. 3 and 4) provided in the extensionsection 29, just inwardly of the outlet 21 of the drum. The liquid inthe trough 44 is received into a suitable bottom pipe 41, (Fig. 1), andfrom thence is pumped back through a conduit 48 into the hopper 45, tobe recirculated, having first been passed through a suitable filter 5|associated with the pump 52.

In Fig. 5 the tumbling drum is shown as adapted for use with air suctionor an air blast as the cleansing medium. The drum [2 is embraced by ajacket comprising the peripheral portion 53 with lateral flanges 54,which members closely approach the drum but permit free turning thereof.The air injection or suction may be applied at any suitable point on thejacket, preferably at the bottom as at 55, in which position the airpasses with particularly good action through the materials passing overthe drum outlet during clockwise or non-discharge rotation of the drum.It will be understood that during the use of air, the hopper and exitends of the mill are suitably covered.

The peripheral outlet from the tumbling drum, as provided in thisinvention, is a simple and highly efficient method of unloading materialtherefrom by the mere reversal of the direction of rotation of the drum.Moreover, it makes it possible to reduce the depth of the tumbling drum,from front to rear, since, as heretofore made, these drums were of aconical type, of the general character of the collector drum, which, ofcourse, must possess a considerable depth to get an effective slantcapable of directing the material to the lower portions thereof. Inother words, the walls of the tumbling drum herein are parallel with theaxis of rotation. Another advantage in this connection is that a largerload may be carried by the drum.

Variations will suggest themselves upon consideration of the meansherein disclosed, but these are believed to be comprised within thespirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. .A tumbling mill comprising a rotatable drum having front, rear andperipheral walls, the peripheral wall being formed with an outletintercepting material in the drum only when the latter is rotated in onedirection, the rear wall of the drum being provided with a dischargeopening, and a diagonally disposed conduit extending from the drumoutlet to the discharge opening and adapted upon rotation of the drum insaid one direction to direct the material from said outlet to saidopening.

2. A tumbling mill comprising a rotatable main drum having front, rearand peripheral walls, a collector associated With the rear wall of themain drum, a separator in said collector, the peripheral wall of saiddrum being formed with an outlet accessible to material in the drum fromone direction only such that when the drum is rotated in the oppositedirection said material passes said outlet Without entering, the rearwall of said drum being formed with an opening, and conduit meansextending from said drum outlet to said opening and from the latterthrough the collector to the separator.

3. A tumbling mill comprising a rotatable main drum having front, rearand peripheral walls, a collector associated with the rear wall of themain drum, a separator in said collector, the peripheral wall of saiddrum being formed with an outlet accessible to material in the drum fromone direction only such that when the drum is rotated in the oppositedirection said material passes said outlet without entering, the rearwall of said drum being formed with an opening, conduit means extendingfrom said drum outlet to said opening and from the latter through thecollector to the separator, and a return chute in said collector andcommunicating at one end with the interior of the drum and at the othrwith the interior of the collector.

4. A tumbling mill comprising a rotatable main drum having front, rearand peripheral walls, a collector associated with the rear wall of themain drum, a separator in said collector, the peripheral wall of saiddrum being formed with an outlet accessible to material in the drum fromone direction only such that when the drum is rotated in the oppositedirection said material passes said outlet without entering, the rearwall of said drum being formed with an opening, conduit means extendingfrom said drum outlet to said opening and from the latter through thecollector to the separator, 'a return chute in said collector andcommunicating at one end with the interior of the drum and at the otherwith the interior of the collector, and a deflector associated with thechute for directing material in the collector into the chute.

5. A tumbling mill comprising. a rotatable drum having front and rearwalls and a peripheral wall parallel with the axis of rotation, aseparator and collector unit associated with the drum in substantialaxial alignment therewith,

an outlet in said peripheral wall, means whereby material in the drum isdischarged through said outlet when the drum is rotated in one directionand. is retained in the drum when the latter rotated in the oppositedirection, and conduit means associated with the drum and with said unitfor directing material from the former to the latter during dischargerotation of the drum.

6. A tumbling mill comprising a rotatablymounted drum formed with front,rear and side walls and provided with an outlet opening in the side wallthereof, means providing for entry of material in the drum into saidoutlet opening upon rotation of the drum in one direction and precludingsuch entry upon rotation of the drum in the opposite direction, meansassociated with the rear wall of the drum for separating operatedmaterials from abrading elements, a connecting conduit between saidoutlet and separator for directing materials ejected from said outlet tothe separator, the rear wall of the drum being provided with an inletport, and means for returning abrading elements from the separator intothe drum through said port.

7. A tumbling mill comprising a drum formed with front, rear andperipheral walls, the peripheral wall being provided with an outlet andthe rear wall with an inlet, a separator adjacent to and rotatable withthe rear wall and communicating with said inlet, a conduit connectingsaid outlet with the separator, means for selectively directing theabrading or cleansing and the abraded or cleansed materials togetherinto said outlet for transference through said conduit to the separatorupon rotation of the drum, and means for returning the abradingmaterials into the drum through said inlet.

8. A tumbling mill comprising a drum formed with front, rear andperipheral walls, the peripheral wall being provided with an outlet andthe rear wall with an inlet centrally disposed and relatively remotefrom said outlet, a separator adjacent to and rotatable with the rearwall and communicating with said inlet, a conduit connecting said outletwith the separator, means for selectively directing the abrading orcleansing and the abraded or cleansed materials together into saidoutlet for transference through said conduit to the separator uponrotation of the drum, and means for returning the abrading materialsinto the drum through said inlet.

9. A tumbling mill comprising a drum with front, rear and peripheralwalls, the peripheral wall being provided with an outlet, meansoperative upon rotation of the mill in one direction for retainingmaterials in the drum and for discharging the materials through saidoutlet upon rotation of the drum in the opposite direction, a separatoradjacent to and rotatable with the drum and in substantial axialalignment therewith, and conduit means connecting said outlet with theseparator for transferring materials discharged through said outlet tothe separator.

SEBASTIAN PAUL SCHUMMER.

